Pinch roller assembly of a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus has a pinch roller configured to selectively contact a capstan axis mounted on a deck base. A pinch arm is provided for rotatably supporting the pinch roller on one end thereof. The pinch arm is pivotally mounted on the deck base for movement between first position and second positions. When in first position, the pinch roller is adjacent to the capstan axis, and when in the second position the pinch roller is spaced away from the capstan axis. A pinch axis is mounted on the other end of the pinch arm. The pinch axis is a pivot point of the pinch arm. A pinch spring is disposed on the pinch axis to elastically support the pinch arm when being pivoted to the first position toward the capstan axis. A separation preventing protrusion is integrally formed with the pinch axis to prevent deviation of the pinch spring.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-59557, filed Jul. 29, 2004, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, such as a video cassette tape recorder (VCR) or a digital versatile camcorder (DVC), which utilizes magnetic tape as a recording medium More particularly, the present invention relates to a pinch roller assembly having a tape running device that withdraws and runs tape from a cassette tape.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a tape running device for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus comprises a pair of rotary reel tables, a capstan motor for driving the reel table; a pair of pole base assemblies, a capstan axis, and a pinch roller assembly for contacting the tape relatively tightly toward the capstan axis by a certain predetermined pressure.

When the tape is loaded, the pinch roller assembly is moved toward the capstan axis by a tape loading device. Thus, the tape is pressed toward the capstan axis by the predetermined pressure so that the tape can run relatively smoothly.

As shown in FIGS. 1-2, such conventional pinch roller assemblies for magnetic recording and reproducing apparatuses comprise a pinch roller 10, a pinch arm 20 of which one end rotatably supports the pinch roller 10, a pinch axis 30 connected to the other end of the pinch arm 20, and a pinch spring 40 engaged around the pinch axis 30.

The pinch arm 20 pivots between first and second positions along the pinch axis 30 and is rotatably arranged on a deck base 50. In the first position, the pinch roller 10 is adjacent to the capstan axis 60. In the second position, which is the initial position, the pinch roller 10 is spaced away from the capstan axis 60.

The pinch arm 20 pivots between the first and the second positions by a tape loading device (not shown). Particularly, the pinch spring 40 disposed on the pinch axis 30 tightly contacts the pinch roller 10 in the first position toward the capstan axis 60.

The pinch spring 40 comprises a fixed end 41 supported by the pinch arm 20 and a free end 42. As shown in FIG. 1, the free end 42 is obstructed by a slider 70 traversely orientated in the deck base 50. With respect to FIG. 1, the slider 70 moves left when the tape is loaded and moves right when the tape is unloaded.

Also with respect to FIG. 1, when the tape is loaded, the free end 42 of the pinch spring 40 of the pinch arm 20 moves to the first position and is urged via the slider 70. Therefore, the pinch roller 10 comes into tight contact with the capstan axis 60.

However, in the pinch roller assembly of the conventional magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, undesired torsion may be applied to the pinch spring 40. This is due to a difference between a force (F) transferred by the slider 70 to the free end 42 of the pinch spring 40 and a height (H) of a fixing end supporting part of the pinch spring 40, thereby deviating the pinch spring 40 from its correct position.

Deviation of the pinch spring 40 may affect the height (H) of the free end 42 of the pinch spring 40. Therefore, the pinch spring 40 is not obstructed by the slider 70. In this case, the pinch roller 10 may fail to tightly contact with the capstan axis 60.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus having a separation preventing protrusion to prevent deviation of the pinch spring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus which is capable of preventing a contact error of a pinch roller with respect to a capstan axis, caused by deviation of the pinch spring.

In order to achieve the above-described aspects of the present invention, there is provided a pinch roller configured to selectively contact with a capstan axis mounted on a deck base. A pinch arm rotatably supports the pinch roller on one end thereof and is pivotally mounted on the deck base for movement between first and second positions. When in the first position the pinch roller is adjacent to the capstan axis and when in the second position the pinch roller is spaced away from the capstan axis. A pinch axis is mounted on the other end of the pinch arm. The pinch axis being a pivot point of the pinch arm. A pinch spring is disposed on the pinch axis to elastically support the pinch arm as it is pivoted to the first position toward the capstan axis. A separation preventing protrusion is integrally formed with the pinch axis to prevent deviation of the pinch spring disposed on the pinch axis.

One separation preventing protrusion is provided to fit in a groove of the pinch spring.

A pair of separation preventing protrusions are formed to fit in grooves of the pinch spring, respectively.

One separation preventing protrusion supports a lower part of the pinch spring.

The separation preventing protrusion is substantially annular.

Other objects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The above and other objects, and features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a conventional pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a pinch roller assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a pinch axis in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing parts of a pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of main parts of a pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus in accordance with still yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The matters defined in the description such as a detailed construction and elements are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for conciseness.

As shown in FIGS. 3-4, a pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, comprises a pinch roller 10, a pinch arm 20 of which one end rotatably supports the pinch roller 10, a pinch axis 30 connected to the other end of the pinch arm 20, a pinch spring 40 engaged around the pinch axis 30, and a separation preventing protrusion 100 formed on the pinch axis 30 to prevent the pinch spring 40 from deviating from its correct position.

The pinch roller 10 selectively contacts a capstan axis 60 (FIG. 1) arranged on a deck base 50 (FIG. 1).

The pinch arm 20 pivots between a first position and a second position by the pinch axis 30 and is rotatably supported on the deck base 50. In the first position, the pinch roller 10 is adjacent to the capstan axis 60. In the second position (the initial position), the pinch roller 10 is spaced away from the capstan axis 60.

The pinch arm 20 pivots between the first and the second positions by a tape loading device (not shown). Particularly, the pinch spring 40 disposed on the pinch axis 30 relatively tightly contacts the pinch roller 10 in the first position toward the capstan axis 60.

The pinch spring 40 comprises a fixed end 41 supported by the pinch arm 20 and a free end 42. As shown in FIG. 1, the free end 42 is obstructed by a slider 70 which is transversely arranged in the deck base 50. The slider 70 moves left when the tape is loaded and moves right when the tape is unloaded, with respect to FIG. 1.

Also with respect to FIG. 1, when the tape is loaded, the free end 42 of the pinch spring 40 of the pinch arm 20 is moved to the first position and urged clockwise via the slider 70. Therefore, the pinch roller 10 comes into relatively tight contact with the capstan axis 60.

The separation preventing protrusion 100 supports the pinch spring 40. The separation preventing protrusion 100 correctly positions the pinch spring 40 about the the pinch axis 30.

The separation preventing protrusion 100 is integrally formed with an outer circumference of the pinch axis 30 for insertion into grooves of the pinch spring 40 to prevent the pinch spring 40 from escaping. The separation preventing protrusion 100 is preferably annularly shaped; however, other suitable arrangements may be used. Additionally, the separation preventing protrusion 100 preferably has a triangular longitudinal section to correspond to the grooves of the pinch spring 40; however, the structure and shape of the separation preventing protrusion 100 are not limited thereto.

According to the above-structured pinch roller assembly, when the pinch spring 40 is urged, as the free end 42 thereof and the slider 70 contact with each other in the first position, although torsion is excessively applied to the pinch spring 40 due to the difference between the force (F) transferred by the slider 70 to the free end 42 of the pinch spring 40 and the height (H) of the fixing end supporting part of the pinch spring 40, the pinch spring 40 can be maintained in the correct position. This is because the pinch spring 40 is supported by the separation preventing protrusion 100 of the pinch axis 30.

Accordingly, an error caused by deviation of the pinch spring 40 regarding the contact between the pinch roller 10 and the capstan axis 60 may be prevented.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view extracting main parts of a pinch roller assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a pair of separation preventing protrusions 100 and 110 are integrally formed with the outer circumference of the pinch axis 30 at a predetermined distance. The other features are the same as those of the previous embodiment and description thereof will be omitted for purposes of clarity and conciseness. The pair of the separation preventing protrusions 100 and 110 are disposed to correspond to and fit in two grooves of the pinch spring 40, respectively. The separation preventing protrusions 100 and 110 are preferably formed in parallel or formed as a spiral; however, suitable alternative arrangements may be used.

According to this embodiment, by adopting two separation preventing protrusions 100 and 110, the pinch spring 40 may be more securely supported, and therefore, deviation of the pinch spring 40 may be effectively prevented.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of main parts of a pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. A distinctive feature of this embodiment is that a separation preventing protrusion 120 supports a lower part of the pinch spring 40. Other structure and operation are similar to those of the other previous embodiments, so a detailed description of functions and constructions are omitted for of clarity and conciseness. The separation preventing protrusion 120 also prevents the deviation of the pinch spring 40 by supporting the pinch spring 40 in the correct position.

As can be appreciated from the above description, the pinch spring 40 is supported by the separation preventing protrusions 100, 110 or 120 mounted on the pinch axis 30. As a result, the pinch spring 40 may be properly located in the correct position without deviation, even though excessive torsion is being applied.

Therefore, the contact error of the pinch roller 10 with respect to the capstan axis 60 may also be prevented. As a result, the tape running performance is relatively improved and reliability of the apparatus is enhanced.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A pinch roller assembly for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus comprising: a pinch roller configured to selectively contact a capstan axis arranged on a deck base; a pinch arm for rotatably supporting the pinch roller on one end thereof, the pinch arm being pivotally mounted on the deck base for movement between a first position and a second position, wherein when in the first position the pinch roller is adjacent to the capstan axis and when in the second position the pinch roller is spaced away from the capstan axis; a pinch axis mounted on the other end of the pinch arm, the pinch axis being a pivot point of the pinch arm; a pinch spring disposed on the pinch axis to elastically support the pinch arm when being pivoted to the first position toward the capstan axis; and a separation preventing protrusion integrally formed on the pinch axis to prevent deviation of the pinch spring.
 2. The pinch roller assembly of claim 1, wherein one separation preventing protrusion is provided to fit in a groove of the pinch spring.
 3. The pinch roller assembly of claim 1, wherein a pair of separation preventing protrusions are formed to respectively fit in grooves of the pinch spring.
 4. The pinch roller assembly of claim 1, wherein one separation preventing protrusion supports a lower part of the pinch spring.
 5. The pinch roller assembly of claim 1, wherein the separation preventing protrusion is substantially annular. 